With almost 10,000 clubs in more than 100 countries, laughter yoga is an up and coming trend and luckily for Hertford residents, there is a class right on their doorstep.

Our reporter Charlotte Page went along and tried out the class for herself – and the results were hilarious.

I've only ever been to yoga once and found it quite funny - so laughter yoga seemed like the perfect class for me.

I had no idea what to expect from laughter yoga, yet had visions of people laughing away whilst in the warrior or downward facing dog position on their blue yoga mats.

When I arrived at the Quaker Meeting Room on Railway Street on Thursday (February 15), I was welcomed by the very friendly Tracey Vaughan – laughter teacher, trainer and holistic consultant.

The circle of chairs at first seemed a little intimidating, but as I was greeted by more and more friendly faces, I knew I was in safe hands.

A laughter yoga class on Thursday, February 15, at The Quaker Room on Railway Street (Image: Alison Jenkins)

Following an introduction about the class and how it came about, it was time to get going.

The first exercise was to say hello to one another – it seemed simple enough, but this was no ordinary greeting, as of course, in a class like this, you need to greet one another with a big hearty belly laugh hello.

The class also saw us feel laughter travel all though our body starting with our eyes, all the way down to our toes.

Other exercises included electric shock laughs, laughing at credit card bills, parking tickets and laughing when your umbrella blows you around in the stormy weather.

You might be wondering where the yoga comes in, and in fact, there isn’t any.

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It’s all about yogic breathing which grounds you in between exercises, whilst helping you feel relaxed and ready for the next exercise.

I thought the class has a great pace with its rhythmic clapping, which also made me feel very at ease.

Tracey demonstrates different laughs from a belly laugh to laughing with your eyes (Image: Alison Jenkins)

Especially at the start, it's quite nerve-wracking laughing with and at other people for no reason as all, so one of my favourite exercises and probably the most rewarding was when everyone laid of the floor, closed their eyes, and laughed.

The laughter was infectious as we all bounced off one another, and there was no need to worry anyone was watching you.

Laughing for no reason may all sound a bit crazy, but the health benefits of laughter yoga are endless since your body is unable to tell the difference between real and pretend laughter – meaning that you benefit regardless.

It can boost your immune system, it releases your body’s natural painkillers, it can alleviate stress, and just generally make you feel good – to name just a few.

And I did feel good after, and also proud that I had tried something different.

If you've never done laughter yoga before, and there is most likely to be quite a few who haven't, why not give it a go?

Below is a mini guide of everything you need to know about laughter yoga and how you can get involved.

How did laughter yoga start?

Laughter yoga was started in Mumbai, India, in the 1990s by Doctor Madam Kataria.

“He came up with the notion that laughter is a really healing source so he, along with five other people in a park, started telling jokes and getting people to laugh,” said Tracey.

“It became really successful and there were lots of people coming along.”

Unfortunately, things started to get offensive, and people decided to not turn up anymore.

The class is all about getting in touch with your laughter and childlike qualities (Image: Alison Jenkins)

So Doctor Kataria went home and spoke to his wife, a yoga teacher, and they came up with the concept to do laughter exercises which didn’t involves words.

Tracey continued: “He said to everyone I’ll come back and give it another chance and it became really successful.

“So since those five people in that park he’s opened up 10,000 clubs in about 100 countries.

“It’s getting really big now.”

What are the health benefits of laughter yoga?

The list is endless! Here are just a few:

Boosts your immune system

Releases your endorphins – the body’s natural painkiller

Reduces and/or alleviates stress

Helps to alleviate depression

Boosts confidence and communication

Releases pent up emotions

Strengths the voice

Makes you feel happy!

Who is Tracey Vaughan?

Tracey is a laughter teacher, trainer and holistic consultant.

She discovered laughter yoga whilst on a self-development retreat and when taking part in a class realised that she didn’t laugh enough herself.

“I was on a retreat, a self-development retreat, and I ended up doing some laughter yoga on it and realised I didn’t laugh enough,” she said.

“It was really hard for me to laugh on it, so when I realised it took me out of my comfort zone, it was quite uncomfortable.

Teacher Tracey tried laughter yoga for the first time whilst on a self-development retreat (Image: Alison Jenkins)

“I decided to look into it more and I then trained to become a laughter yoga leader and then teacher, and opened up this club because I realised that I wanted to get something into the community where it’s bringing people together just for the soul purpose of laughing.”

Tracey also teaches people to run their own clubs, to become laughter yoga leaders yourself and also offers laughter coaching either in a one on one class or in small groups.

It’s all about getting in touch with your laughter and back to those childlike qualities.